The invention relates to a knitting system comprising a needle bed, for example in the form of a knitting cylinder, and a knitting tool, for example in the form of a needle, in particular, a latch-type needle.
Needle beds, in particular knitting cylinders such as have been known from the examples of U.S. Pat. No. 423,244B, have been fabricated in that, for example axially extending guide grooves are milled into a cylindrical base body, said guide grooves forming guide channels for knitting tools, for example needles. Another possibility for fabricating guide channels stated in the same publication is based on milling longitudinal grooves on the outside of a metal body representing a hollow cylinder, whereby strips are then inserted in said longitudinal grooves. The guide channels for knitting tools are defined between the inserted strips.
In both cases the assumption is that the depth of a guide channel is considerably greater than its width. For example, a needle cylinder with a fineness greater than E20 (more than 20 needles per inch) has a guide channel depth of 3.7 mm and a guide channel width of 0.44 m. This corresponds to a depth/width ratio greater than 8.
The idea that has so-far previously been known has met with difficulties in instances of greater degrees of fineness. In particular, in instances of degrees of coarser fineness such as E18 and less, typically cylinders with milled guide channels are being used. As a result of this, parallel-flanked guide channels in the needle cylinders are obtained. However, hardening the existing strips is difficult. At degrees of fineness greater than 18, hardening is likely to be dispensed with, which, however, can again cause problems of wear.
The design of the strips inserted in the cylinder results in an expensive manufacturing process. This applies, in particular, in instances of high degrees of fineness such as E18 and finer. However, in the case of foot breakage and a damage of the strips, a total damage of the cylinder can occasionally be prevented if individual damaged strips can be replaced.
If greater demands are made in view of accuracy, the design using inserted strips on knitting cylinders may lead to difficulties because, in fact, slightly trapezoidal guide channels may result. If, in contrast, strips are used that themselves are somewhat trapezoidal in form in order to compensate for that, the manufacture is made even significantly more expensive.
The problem of hardening a knitting cylinder has resulted in alternative designs such as those shown by publication DE 677 979, for example. The knitting cylinder schematically illustrated there with guide channels having a rectangular cross-section is segmented. Said knitting cylinder comprises an interior, non-hardened hollow cylindrical body, to which shell-shaped hardened segments are attached, said segments being provided with the needle channels.
Considering this design, there are major problems if the shell-shaped segments attached to the outside of the hollow cylindrical base body are subject to distortion while being hardened.
It is the object of the invention to provide a concept for a knitting device that makes possible a cost-effective simple fabrication featuring a reliable process and, at the same time, also meets the requirements of increased knitting speed.